Human Rights Day Observed in S.P. College of Law

A lecture on ‘Human Rights’ was organised at Shantaram Potdukhe College of Law, Chandrapur to mark the occasion of International Human Rights Day i.e. 10th December. The programme was chaired by Dr. Aejaz Sheikh, Principal of the College in the presence of  faculty members Dr. S.K. Dutta, Dr. Benny M.J and Dr. Purnendu Kar. The programme was attended by a large number of students.

The speech was delivered by Adv. Paromita Goswami who is an alumnus of the college and also the founder of the social organisation Shramik Elgar.

In her address she provided information about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which was proclaimed on 10 December 1948 and the role of India, as one of the founding members of the United Nations Organisations. She referred to human rights instruments like the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women etc. She said that many of the articles in the UDHR are reflected in the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Indian constitution. She outlined the role of the judiciary – from Supreme Court and High Court to the District Court – in upholding human rights and exhorted the students imbibe the spirit of human rights in their studies and future practice. She shared her own experiences of working on human rights issues.

In his presidential address Dr. Aejaz Sheikh outlined the importance of human duties as the corelative of human rights. He pointed out that human rights violations are ultimately committed by human beings. This is injustice committed by one human being on another. If all people perform their human duties then automatically the human rights of each and every person will be upheld. He motivated the students to perform the fundamental duties enlisted in the constitution under Article 51-A, to remain aware about the rights of the poor and marginalised sections of society and work for their upliftment. In an important announcement Dr. Sheikh declared that henceforth 1st December will be observed as Human Duties Day by the college.

The programme was conducted by Dr. Ashwini Balki and the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Suwarna Mangrulkar.